2022 DCM Novice Thread

MisterJinx

Another week done. Have to say this was probably the worst week I've had on the plan to date. Really didn't enjoy any of my runs. Wednesday Thursday and Friday were particularly off form, didn't even enjoy the mid week strides.

I may have been carrying some sort of bug, I don't know but I sweated buckets on Friday night and was feeling a bit more alive on Saturday.

Life was expected to be busy this week but managed to get some unexpected additional stuff to deal with this weekend but even still...

The week was probably saved by the lsr late this afternoon which went fine generally with no issues and HR stayed in a good place for the whole session.

Not feeling the mojo like I was a couple b of weeks ago but suppose ups and downs are too be expected in a training block this long.

Mileage has been nestling at 70k for the last couple of weeks and will be lower I expect with the HM on Saturday, not sure if this is an issue?

skyblue46

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119602770#Comment_119602770

Yes, the Beta gel contains the recommended 2 sources of carbs. The more commonly available SIS Go only contains maltodextrin 👍

Los Cafeteros

Thanks @Laineyfrecks and the other contributors for your ongoing advice.

Recap of the last week- first ever 20 miler and biggest weekly total ever. Body holding up pretty well with the cumulative fatigue. Aiming for around 3:30(4:58/km) on the day.

Mon Club S+C(cross)

Tues 13km @5:56

Wed 6.7km @5:39. (Squeezed this in at lunch given I was working 09:00-24:00)

Thurs 6.1km @5:45

Fri 5.2km @5:30

Sat 32.2km @ 5:55 HR 138 Second weekend in a row to get lucky with the weather for this. Glorious run around PP with a detour out to Porterstown parkrun which was a nice way to break it up. Lessons learned about fuelling and mentally toughing out a sticky 5km section in the middle. Finished feeling stronger than last weeks long run.

Question for the mentors- on holidays next week so wont be able to do the race series HM. Have signed up for Charleville on 25/09 instead. Is there enough time to race this and recover/taper prior to DCM or better to run it as a PMP type session?

Adiaga 2

Week 11 done!

Tuesday 6.50km easy pace 6:14/km

Wednesday 13km easy pace 6:10/km

Thursday 6.5km with stride x5

Saturday 32.2km LSR pace 6:21/km

This is the first week so far that I only ran 4 days. It was mainly due to doing last week's LSR on Sunday. But I may do the same this week. Was happy with the LSR on Saturday - felt fairly comfortable throughout. Pace was a bit quicker than last weeks but I think that was mainly due to it being less windy. Last weeks LSR was into a head wind for a good chunk. I was pretty stiff yesterday and did plenty of stretching. Tentatively looking forward to the HM this Saturday. Body is definitely feeling the extra mileage of the last few weeks. 

masterK

Week 11

Tue: 7km at 5:57 pace

Wed: 13km at 5:54 pace

Thur: 6km at 5:50 pace

Sat: 32km at 5:53 pace

Sun: 5km at 6:14 pace

The last few kms of the LSR on Saturday were absolute hell, I was really struggling. I'm hoping it's just the result of a couple of pretty tough weeks overall and is just a fatigue build up. I felt fine on Sunday though, I think forcing myself onto the foam roller and to stretch really helps after the LSR. Otherwise everything went as planned, looking forward to the HM this weekend (and the easier mid week schedule)

AntrimGlens

Week 13 done

Tuesday 5m easy @ 9.15

Wednesday -2m w/u, 8m @ 8.15 min mile, 1m c/d

Thursday - 6m easy @ 9.05

Friday - 5m easy @ 9.35

Sunday - 17m @ 9.22 min mile

Back down to 44 miles for the week, starting to feel the fatigue set in. I hate doing out and back runs and try where possible to run a loop so I'm running somewhere differently. Picked a loop yesterday for my LSR and probably picked one with a bit too much elevation. Legs felt sluggish from the start but I still managed to average it out around LSR pace. Used a gel belt and ran carrying my soft 500ml pouch with electrolyte in it, was much more comfortable than using a running vest with pockets. I'll go with this approach on race day.

Really tired on Saturday evening and again last night, so hopefully a bit more sleep might help from now on. I had a busy week with a few very late night finishes on the farm, so probably only averaged 5 hours sleep mon-fri. Thankfully the next couple of weeks will be less busy and I can focus now on rest and eating and drinking properly. I must say that I've noticed my appetite for alcohol completely diminished the past few weeks, I had one glass of wine with dinner on Saturday evening and couldn't even be bothered having another one.

Had a bit of a panic thinking the Queens funeral may disrupt things for London, but all appears to be good on that front with no clash of dates. Booked into the physio next monday and looking forward to getting the legs rubbed out, as they're heavy and leaden at present.

All in all another solid week, with no disruption.

Roar

Just wanted to drop in and say hello. I'm training for my first Marathon at the age of 39 after being bitten by the running bug last year. Training hasn't been great the last while. Everything was going fine up until the Cork Half, ran a great race that day (went under 2hrs for the first time) and was feeling very confident of my training for Dublin.

Not long after I was getting terrible pains in my shins, went to physio and he said it was being caused by issues with my hips. Got that sorted but it took a while, felt like I was starting back from zero a few weeks back. Just when I thought I was getting back I got cellulitis in my right leg after being bitten or stung by something on a walk, and that had me in bed for a week. Which was perhaps a blessing in disguise, as a lot of little niggles cleared up.

I got back on the horse massively last week, with 12k runs on Monday and Tuesday, 21k on Thursday and 23k on Saturday. Keeping the pace slow and just concerned about getting miles in the legs. Hit the wall a bit on Saturday at the end of the run. I was absolutely zonked yesterday - was supposed to be at a 6k race which was thankfully cancelled which allowed me a proper rest day, feeling better now today.

Have my gear at work today and will head out for 12k when I finish. I'm not 100% confident I'll be ready for Dublin in a few weeks, but I'm going to give training a right rattle in the next 6 weeks and if it goes ok, and I stay injury (and cellulitis!) free then I have a chance. Fingers crossed anyway!

I'm in wave 4 and will be going out behind the 4.30 pacer should I make it. I think it should be doable, but again, depends on how my body reacts to stepping up the miles. We'll see.

Reading the posts from people here has been a big help and a big source of motivation this morning, so thanks!

Dublinlad1989

Weekly update,

The week started off grand and got two runs in on Tuesday - 6km @6.20 per km and wednesday 12km @ 6.21 per km. Then Covid hit my house, my wife got it earlier in the week and i was hoping to avoid it but tested positive on thursday so have been bed ridden since. Very tired and sore chest and i have a bad feeling that if this persists it could be the end of my marathon hopes give there is only 6/7 week left.

If i manage to make the marathon i'm going to look at increasing my time and not go for my original plan.

Going to see how i'm feeling in the middle of the week and maybe start getting back out for some slow short runs but feeling really disheartened right not.

Hope everyones training is going well and best of luck to everyone doing the half marathon this weekend.

l3m0n5

Weekly update

Mon 6,0 km 37:54 6:18/km

Tue 7,0 km 42:53 6:07/km

Wed 13,6 km 1:22:52 6:06/km

Fri 5,8 km 39:10 6:48/km

Sun 32,4 km 3:33:41 6:36/km

Over all this week went well, I was in Dublin on Wednesday so managed to do part of the run along the route, always find it helps on race day.

Yesterday's long run went well, legs still felt good at the end but mentally I had enough at mile 20 as i was soak through.

Lambay island

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119605491#Comment_119605491

Nice week. Are you sticking to plan on holidays or will you be limited in what you can do? I think quite a few folk do Charleville half in prep for DCM. With it only a week closer to D day, once you are sensible with your easy running and rest days around it, personally I think that fine.

Lambay island

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119606147#Comment_119606147

You are not on your own. Quite a few Ive been talking to have been getting that lethargic and stiff feeling in the last week. Its all to be expected. Utilise the foam roller and stretch regularly.. Try and have a restful(keep off you feet) rest day if that is even possible. Fingers crossed its not too windy this sat!

Lambay island

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119606621#Comment_119606621

Ah Crap.. on the plus side, better now than this time next month. Hope you recover well and quickly. Listen to your body!

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119604415#Comment_119604415

A lot of people are finding things a bit tougher now with the cumulative fatigue built up. Use your foam roller if you have one & stretch when you can to help loosen things up. Yep 8k & 15k sounds good for the gels, it's all about practice at this stage & using them in a race environment is great prep for the day.

Best of luck on Sat!

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119605193#Comment_119605193

Well done on getting the week done despite feeling off form. We can't expect our running mojo to be great all the time & as you said yourself especially in a plan this long. Main thing is you take the bad with the good & keep going, you have put in so much great training, sit with it & move on, make this week a better week. Life has a way of throwing curve balls at us, all you can do is your best, it will all be worth it on the big day!

Best of luck on Sat😊

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119606250#Comment_119606250

We have a lot of people saying the exact same thing. We are well into the plan now & it's normal for the fatigue to be building up. Making use of your foam roller & stretching is a really good habit to get into.

Best of luck Sat😊

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119606347#Comment_119606347

Good week there. As you can see most of the comments this week are about the fatigue setting in. Foam rolling & stretching should help. Sleep will be huge for you to try to improve(I know it's not that easy when you are so busy) but it will really aid your recovery in between your runs. I'm the exact same with drink, I can have one & that's enough, something else positive about running😉

Enjoy the physio visit!

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119606621#Comment_119606621

Really sorry to read this, as D said listen to your body. Hope you feel better soon🤗

68 lost souls

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603229#Comment_119603229

Condolences to Thomas FBubendorfer, his family and friends, RIP

A good week in terms of getting all the runs done but swapped Wednesday - Thursday and Saturday - Sunday to fit my schedule. A little slow at times but being the biggest mileage so far, as suggested we would, I am feeling it in the muscles and joints. Hoping the easier lead into the HM will help.

Tuesday: 6.5km @ 5:52/k

Wednesday: 6.5km @ 5:53/km with strides

Thursday: 13km @ 6:16km

Saturday: 5km @ 5:50km

Sunday: 32km @ 6:35km

MisterJinx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119601941#Comment_119601941

Thanks for this S. Took a listen over lunch today. Need to go back again to make sure I understand it fully but an interesting listen.

I haven't got a chance to get to wheelworx as of yet but will try. Funny enough, the gels I have been using which were a random buy last year have Glucose, Fructose and maltodextrin.....I had no idea however it looks like they have gone bust or something as they are no longer in stock anywhere.

Just had a quick look at Holland and Barret who do stock Torq, which uses a 2:1 mix of maltodextrin to fructose with 28.8g of carbohydrate and some electrolytes. Combining these with the chews which are a mix of simple and complex sugars from when I've just googled so they might be an ok combination if I was taking two gels per hour and 3 to 4 chews in-between.

(28.8 x 2 + 48/2 for half a pack of chews = 80g of carbohydrate with a different mix of sugars)

ccull123

Hi all, I found this week very hard. Did my LSR on Saturday. Got to 30km at 6min 15sec km pace and had to throw in the towel. My legs, ankles, and hips were in complete agony from about 27km. Had aimed to do the 32km but honestly had nothing left. Feel a bit disheartened. Had six gels and about a litre of water on the run so any advice to get me up to the 32km would be appreciated. Feeling really anxious as to how I’ll get to 42km with the marathon just around the corner

Murph_D

Hang in there folks. Totally normal to feel tired at this crucial stage of the proceedings. You’ve been putting your body through stuff it has never had to do so it’s just fighting back a bit to make sure you know what you’re doing. It is amazing however how quickly it learns. A 20 mile run (if you’ve just done one, or come close to one) will probably never feel as hard again. @ccull123 you were right to pull the plug on that one if you were in severe pain. That’s a sign something is not right. A sports massage might help. Or just some rest, nutrition, fluids and sleep.

Gazzler82

Might as well jump in here I think.

long time lurker and reader and have learnt a lot from other training posts

Had no plan to run this (nor officially will I be) but then my buddy didn’t plan on motor neurone either. So switched out of advanced Hansons half plan into Hansons marathon beginner plan. Had only 9 weeks so started on week 8 (as had been doing similar mileage) and will drop weeks 13 and 14

inspired by @Swashbuckler i have moved my rest day to Saturday (3 smallies between 5 and nearly 2) Also run the sessions in the late evening so keeping all my easy runs to lunch 65 minutes.

Having half read Jack Daniel’s who seems to suggest in his plans that it’s up to the runner to cover the easy miles as they see fit, this does mean at least one double day a week. The eldest started school means I’ve managed to avoid the double days in the first two weeks of my “modified” plan as we manage his early finishes

This week has started poorly as I picked up a virus from the baby so 0km this week so far and will not do the last speed session. Hoping to get back out tomorrow lunch time for standard 8k easy and make up some mileage by running on Saturday. Hoping to be well recovered for Thursdays tempo but if it has to be easy so be it

• Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
• 5k 17:51 July 22
• 4m 24.16 July 22
• 5m 29:51 July 22
• 10m 64:24 august 22
• HM 1:26:17 June 22
• M 3:22:57 June 17
• 2022 goals were sub 70 and sub 90 which were the same as 2020 goals!
• Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? (No problem if you do) no
• How much training do you currently do ? Distances, how many days a week, cross training - whatever you think is relevant to your current fitness level. 6 days a week. 1867km ytd
• What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Or just complete it in no specified time? 3 oh something though given shorten program who knows. Training paces for HM was sub 85 so adjusting training paces for DCM to c 10mins slower than suggested by the calculators to make up for the lack of volume
• How many days a week can you train? And what plan do you intend to follow? 6 Hansons beginner
• What is your biggest worry/fear/doubt (if you have any!) in signing up? Dodgy knee holding up. Marathon above was cork with 0 base and my slowest training pace was a 22miler at c5.02 avg. 🙈The first was due shortly after so signed up on the basis that I wouldn’t have time after. I only ran three days a week as well for that. Needless to say it resulted in a bruised knee bone that hasn’t flared up with current training load though haven’t ran as many consecutive 80+k weeks and last weeks 24km long run was the longest I had run since that marathon
• Why are you running this marathon? In the bargaining stage of my grief decided to do this and fund raise for the Irish motor neurone disease association. Better this year than next (though it does seem to be very slow versus others in clinic and he is only 40 so younger does seem to have longer outcomes) and he doesn’t live too far from UCD so not too far from the route

Murph_D

Another 'experienced novice'! Welcome.

My only question is, why switch from Hanson Advanced to Beginner, even if going from Half to marathon? And where exactly does Jack Daniels fit in?

Also, maybe the marathon improvers thread would be more appropriate to your development?

Magellanic

Week 10 Recap (late)

Week started out OK with planned runs, but on Wednesday I started to feel run down so decided to skip out on that days run. Went back on Thursday and did the planned run but then felt progressively worse from Friday through to Monday. Really disappointed that I had to drop the LSR but on the other hand, having missed my last Half-marathon through illness, I wanted to let my body recover and not turn "run down" into "fully sick." (Aside: spent weekend repeating to myself the advice from here of "listen to your body" - and telling myself it was the right thing to do)

Slightly better now (Wednesday) and 2 runs down this week. Will welcome advice on how I fit the 20 mile into a schedule or if I should perhaps look to next week's LSR and extend it slightly.

Mon: 3m recovery @ 9:27 per mile

Tues: 4 miles @ 8:07 per mile

Wed: Sick

Thurs: 4 miles @ 7:36 per mile

Fri: Sick

Sat: Sick

Sun: Sick

Race number for Saturday came in post yesterday - so starting to get excited. My only other race ever was a 5k so but nervous.

Question: I assume there are waves for the DCHM but it's self organised rather than assigned?

skyblue46

Waves are self regulated but I'd advise being honest with yourself. Looking at your training paces there.. what's your PMP?

Magellanic

8:00 per mile is the plan.

For the half marathon I was gonna try for 7:40.

Los Cafeteros

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119607337#Comment_119607337

Thanks Lambay- will give charleville a go if feeling good. Did Paris HM in 1:36 so would be happy to go any quicker without a taper.

Mostly sticking to plan on holidays- cut the pmp yesterday short to 9km(rather than 14km) as it felt too hard with the heat. Will keep everything else easy and aiming for 26km for the long run on sat.

68 lost souls

Best of luck to everyone in the morning. Fingers crossed we all hit our goals but probably important to listen to the body tomorrow. The big goal is in October not September… this is the dress rehearsal

Laineyfrecks

Just popping on to wish everyone the very best of luck tomorrow. Enjoy the race buzz & give it socks 🤗

Dublinlad1989

Best of luck to everyone running the half marathon this morning! Can't wait to read the race reports 🙂